Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Supergirl Episode 307: Wake Up

Supergirl episode 307, titled 'Wake Up', aired this week and really was more of an opening chapter to a major plot which will be running through the season. "Wake Up" has a lot of meanings here from the awakening of Mon-El and someone else in the alien ship to Reign's continuing emergence into Sam, to J'onn realizing he is missing out on life, to perhaps Kara realizing that she does truly need to move on from Mon.

But the real juice of this episode's story was how the concept of humanity is the key theme for Season three. Supergirl and Reign are very similar in origins and concept. They both have been living on Earth and both have been trying to be human. But now Kara is willfully hardening herself, trying to be alien so she can't be hurt. Meanwhile, Sam is less in control of what is happening (it seems) and her human side is being thrust aside for something darker. In the end, I can't help but think that a call to humanity ... a cry to be human and humane ... is going to be a key part of the finale.

Lastly, this might be Melissa Benoist's strongest episode of the season. Her heart is on her sleeve as she runs the gamut of joy in seeing Mon-El again to pain when it is clear he isn't the same person to a sliver of happiness when they relive a memory, back to despair when surprise news devastates her. From the quavering of her voice to her expressions to subtle things like futzing with her glasses, you know the depths of what Kara is feeling. Seriously, I know it is Supergirl but I hope the CW is putting together an Emmy reel for Benoist.

On to the episode.

The show starts out with a sub at the waterfront investigating the destruction that Morgan Edge's torpedo attack did. The alien ship we saw before springs to life when the camera drone nears it, lashing out and almost destroying the vessel.

Meanwhile, back at Sam's house, Sam is finally starting to realize that she isn't exactly human. She plunges her hand in boiling water only to pull it out unharmed. The look of incredulity on her face as she looks down on it is great. The act reminded me of Pris doing something similar in Blade Runner.

Realizing that she has powers, she snaps at Ruby her daughter. Sam has something to do and Ruby needs to go to Tess's house. This isn't a discussion. It seems harsh for the otherwise doting mother perhaps a sign that darker emotions are already brewing?

Meanwhile, the DEO has gotten wind of the alien ship. It is constructed of an alien metal and has been buried in the rock for nearly 12,000 years. Winn, J'onn, and Kara head off to investigate.

I love the beginning of the scene. First off, the three are just strolling down the city street and Supergirl isn't being mobbed. Seemed a bit nonchalant of them.

But the great joy is when Supergirl tells everybody to stand back because she is going to get to the ship like Clark did once. She is about to twirl and presumably drill down to get there before J'onn stops her. This has to be an homage to the Richard Donner Superman film where Christopher Reeve tells everyone to stand back when he does something similar. (Head to around 0:31 here!) I love the befuddled looks on the passersby.

I love the homages and Easter Eggs in this show!

Rather than rip through public property, J'onn grabs hold of Winn and Supergirl and phases them through the rock to the ship.

Inside the see bodies in the orange fluid-filled tubes we have seen the last few weeks. One of the tubes is open. And who comes out of the shadows ... speaking an alien tongue ... but Mon-El, a bearded Mon-El no less.

Hmmm ... alien ship from 12,000 years ago?

He is taken back to the DEO where Kara just dotes over him. Of course there are other questions. Who else is on the ship? How did it get there? How is he surviving the atmosphere? But Kara deflects them all. She wants him to rest.

We learn it has been 7 months since he vanished. And she is just thrilled he is back, clutching his hand and smiling. But he seems distant ...

Sam heads off to see her adopted mother to probe about her past. Did she ever display powers before?

In the conversation with her mother (played by Broadway alum Betty Buckley!), we learn that Sam got pregnant at a young age and was basically kicked out of the house. She had to make it on her own. She hasn't been in touch with her mother since. (It's all very Gilmore Girls but Lorelei didn't become the CEO of LCorp!)

Finally, Sam breaks down and confesses about her powers and in a barn out back (maybe the very set from Smallville), her mother shows her the alien pod she was found in. She was going to tell Sam when she turned 18 but they had their rift.

This is basically a less ornate Kara pod with red accents. But when Sam touches it, a black crystal emerges. It is so similar to the crystal tech of the Donner movies. Wonderful.

Part of this scene humanizes Sam. We hear her foibles. But you also see how this must have been a rough upbringing. Perhaps this relationship will be part of the reason Sam sours on humanity?

One thing I have really liked about this season so far is the better characterization of James. Last season it seemed like it was something of a struggle to figure out what to do with him.

Here, in a small scene, he shows up to chat with Kara about the return of Mon-El. It is a nice scene where he tells Kara that she looked happiest with Mon-El. He also knows that Mon would never do anything to hurt her.

It is simply him being a friend to Kara. That role isn't really for Winn anymore because he is in agent mode. So I like Kara having James in this platonic relationship as something of a sounding board and ally. And the whole vibe Mehcad Brooks gives makes me think he likes what he is doing more this season too.

Perhaps compelled by the crystal, Sam has to leave the house again. She tells Ruby something wonderful is happening. She learned something about herself. And she needs to do it alone. Ruby wants to go but Sam says no.

And then we get a little emotional ending to the scene. Sam has Ruby hold her hand. When Ruby feels Sam's pulse, Sam says that is because Ruby is Sam's heart.

Earlier this year, I thought Ruby was going to die to spur Sam's descent to Reign. Now I think the reverse. Ruby is going to call on Sam's humanity to get through to her.

And I think Reign is going to be a cautionary tale for Kara, what can happen when you close yourself off too much.

In the DEO, Mon-El awakens, skulks about, heads to the weapons room (hey there's that Martian staff thingy), knocks out 2 guards, and tries to steal some circular device.

Then Supergirl shows up and clocks him one, knocking him out cold.

Somewhere, many many many people who hate this relationship were clapping.

And then the most powerful scene of the show. Mon-El awakens inside a DEO cell.

Benoist gives this gut-wrenching scene, fiddling with her glasses, her voice tremulous the entire time as she talks of what has gone on since Mon-El left. She can't sleep. She wants to believe he is himself but he is acting strange. His return is all she wanted. She finally felt hope again. But now that is gone.

She ends it on a 'drop the mike' line. "Shame on me for having a human heart."

Again, this concept of humanity, of opening yourself up at the risk of being hurt, is so key to this season. This return is like ripping the scab of a wound finally healing. And Benoist conveys all that pain perfectly.

Winn then shows up and tries to get some info out of Mon-El because he wants to help Kara. That's what friends do, help their friends when they are hurting.

But Mon-El pleads with Winn, this time on the basis of their friendship, to help him. Kara is in danger. Mon-El needs to get to that ship. People will be hurt.

And ... Winn being Winn ... he believes. He frees Mon-El and they head to the ship. There Mon tries to free the others from their tubes. Inside the tube, one person begins to revive. The machinery isn't working. His friends are in danger. Mon-El says the Legion curse word of 'Grife'! It made a 5YL Legion fan like me very happy!

I did my best to blow up the symbols. It unfortunately looks like Interlac numbers outside of that one Saturn symbol. So no clues about who is in there.

Supergirl shows up, angry at Winn and Mon-El. As she tries to beat up Mon-El again, her hand catches on her necklace which she gave him last season. He pleads his case. He has her best interest at heart. But he hasn't been gone for 7 months. He has been living in the future for 7 years. He can breathe because LCorp of the future made a serum.

But the recap is broken up by the reviving person suddenly drowning in the nutrient goo. Kara uses her strength to shatter the 'white dwarf glass' freeing a young woman.

Now things make sense. He lived in the future. For seven years! His life is different now. But there is some threat. He came back in time to help but must have missed the beacon and went 12,000 years too far back.

Suffice it to say the Donner vibe of this episode is strong.

Led by the pulsations of the crystal, Sam heads into the desert. Suddenly, a Fortress of rock is built in this desolate place.

As usual, we get a ton of wrap-up.

One of the running subplots is the J'onzz family. M'yrnn is still acting like a prisoner, living in the DEO and not experiencing life. He calls J'onn for living a similar life, trapped by his position in the DEO. Neither is truly living.

In the end, J'onn sees some wisdom in that and rents an apartment for them to live in. We better get some madcap 'Odd Couple' style scenes in the upcoming episodes.

Then Mon-El and Kara have another scene together.

He says he awoke in the 31st century. He didn't think he would get back to see Supergirl. Life went on. But he could never forget her. He would always remember all she did. It's why he kept the necklace on. They even share a laugh talking about a time Kara annihilated some ribs at an all you can eat place.

As far as I'm concerned, all of that doesn't explain why he didn't just say that when he awoke. He definitely DEFINITELY did not need to skulk around and keep secrets.

But there is one more bomb to be dropped. The person from the ship awakens. Her name is Imra Ardeen (comic fans know her as Saturn Girl, hence the little Saturn symbol, Mon speaking Saturnian earlier, etc). Oh, by the way, she is Mon-El's wife.

Talk about a gut punch to Supergirl. Whoa!

And then Sam is visited by the evil witch A.I. in her Fortress of Sanctuary. I call this woman the anti-Alura.

But she delivers a strong message. Sam is a worldkiller. She is from Krypton but more than Supergirl. Her powers were to manifest when she came of age but having Ruby (called an 'error' by the woman) delayed it. Worldkillers are designed to execute justice without mercy. She will burn the world of man. Sam will "forget all the trappings of humanity" and become Reign. And in the end, it looks like it happened.

See how this is Kara through a mirror darkly? See how all this 'forget the trappings of humanity' sound like Kara's self-imposed emotional walls? See how this woman calling Ruby an 'error' flies in the face of everything we know of Sam, a potential weak spot?

Anyways, a lot happened here and I want to see more. But the crossover is going to delay things!
Still, outside of Mon-El foolishly being secretive, everything else here was pretty brilliant.

Look, I got powerful performances, a live action Saturn Girl, and the word 'Grife'. What more could I want!

19 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Good episode albeit with some hiccups.

Over on CBR some fans are complaining about brunette Saturn Girl married to Mon-El... which I find ironic because several of the complainers rave about the Reboot Legion where Imra dated Rokk, Princess Projectra was a snake and Lightning Lad was Element Lad... or something. I'd like Imra was blonde and was married to Garth, but I'm already used to these shows changing comic canon how they see fit.

And shippers are being shippers. Two weeks ago, Sanvers shippers cried out for a "Supergirl Blackout" and harassed twitter accounts. This week, Karamel fans portend the show's cancellation. I'm (not) sorry for them, but analysts who don't CARE about what show survives or dies predict Supergirl will be renewed, so...

I find interesting Sam's Fortress is located in a desert and it's called "Fortress of Sanctuary". A homage to Action Comics #271 and Supergirl Vol. 6 #12?

I didn't hate Karamel but I wasn't fond of it, either. Since Mon is out of the way and Querl has been cast, I hope we see a Kara/Querl story... but with a good buildup. Bad, rushed build-ups ruin most of romance in CW shows.

I agree Jimmy fits better into the "human friend and counselor" role. Hopefully he has found his place in the show at last.

Soapy ep but I liked it, they can essentially give Benoist an old telephone book for a script and she'll still sell it, she has the infinitely expressive face of a silent film engenue. And the Mon El Haytas all got what they've longed for, the Daxamite Fratboi finally got a good clout in the snout from Ms Kara Zee. I wonder if Berlanti is hoping to use all this as a back door pilot to a Legion Spinoff? Next to Supergirl I suspect that is the series he has in his heart...

Hey Anj, great review as always. And one heck of an episode that was firing on all cylinders! If I didn't know better, I'd call the whole epsiode a callback / loveletter to Richard Donner's Superman, between the "everyone stand back" scene, the pod and backstory reveal in the barnyard scene, Sam walking the desert scene (contrasted with the arctic), and the grown rock Fortress Of Sanctuary. Interesting visuals and contrast, indeed! Will be interesting to see where things go for Sam at thispoint, and what of the remaining Legionaires in the ship -- with the news of Brainac being cast, I presume yours and theother SupergirlxBrainiac romance fans are in overdrive in seeing that play out?

Speaking of the Legionaires, interested in seeing how this goes... for all the hope I have of seeing them onscreen -- plus anexplanation exactly why Mon-El is keeping secrets, and HOW they ended up 12,000 years offcourse; wrong turn at Albuquerque again? -- the theory that the Legionaires don't want to spoil the timeline is one I can roll with... one hopes! Or is it something else (darker/sinister). I'm also hoping they don't overshadow Supergirl herself. This is a SUPERGIRL show afterall... but with a force like Reign to deal with, I can see why you'd want as many allies as possible. Does this mean TPTB may also bring back Tyler Hochelin's Superman, and possibly Brit Morgan's Livewire, as well?

That'd HONESTLY be 6ways kind of EPIC if they did!!

Heartily 2nd your comments about James' role in this episode, being a friend, ally and sounding board. Was a beautiful sceneand moment in the overall relationship between the two. Keep it up!

And this may just be me, but I can't stop laughing at M'yrnn's priceless line of "I understand the appeal of ku-off-EE!"BRILLIANT!!

To the first anon I just want to reassure people that show is cw's fourth most watched in terms of demo and third most watched in terms of viewer ratings. From the viewer ratings it's clear that we will reach 2 million viewers in an episode or two (currently it's at 1.922 million) Arrow and legends are still behind on Supergirl in viewers. So Supergirl is definitely getting renewed for season 4 no worries. If nothing else the syndication with Netflix will assure that and from what we have seen I suspect this season will be setting up the plot quite clearly for s4. One of them is quite apparent- Ruby will become Supergirl's apprentice (junior Supergirl? Maybe Kara will name her cir-el? Anyone thought about this? Please? Me only.okay then)

I also have a 50/50 feeling that Kara *may* die in the season finale because of how similar the plot feels to superman's story in bvs. This is what supes's story should have been but I digress. I would definitely love to see a Supergirl resurrection scene!

Also as an ending note, I just want to say that fans (read shippers) have never gotten a show cancelled (renewed perhaps) but never cancelled. The biggest fandom related incident which comes to mind is the whole clexa thing from THE 100 tvshow and yet that is still on air and on to its 5th season. But man, I have gotten so tired of these *fans* wanting the show to be cancelled cause they are not getting their favourite ships and since these are mostly lgbt ships like the Supercorp one, they decry everything as homophobic. I honestly hate the Supergirl fandom on tumblr. On Twitter it's kinda balanced and a good one in YouTube and Facebook.

Hope as a more older comes in, they will bring their rationality to this hellish fandom.

"Oh and By the Way, My Ungrateful Tramp of a Daughter, I just so happen to have this extraterrestrial vehicle out in our barn that deepens your mystery without obligating me to participate any further in your storyline".

Well, so much for the idea of Kara being “The Last Daughter Of Krypton.”

How many Kryptonians have we seen on this show already? There were at least of dozen of them on Ft Rozz, along with Kara's aunt Astra, and Non. What happened to them? I know that Alex killed Astra, and I think Kara lobotomized Non in a heat vision battle, but what happened to all the other Kryptonians in their kryptonite resistant suits?

Now we can add Reign to the mix. How in the heck did SHE survive Krypton's detonation? Between Kal-El, Kara, Fort Rozz, Mon-El and his parents, and now Reign, Earth is LITTERED with super powerful Kryptonians (or their neighbors), which is problematic, mainly because it detracts from the uniqueness of the star of the show.

There's a reason why DC, in it's wisdom, established very early on in the Superman mythos that space travel had been abandoned, and forbidden by Kryptonians for centuries prior to its destruction. It's easy to understand why the rest of the universe would be wary of an entire race of beings who would become all-powerful outside of their own solar system. If those other civilizations feared that the if the Kryptonians ever decided to colonize their planets, they couldn't be stopped, then the only alternative would be for them to launch a preemptive strike against the Kryptonians BEFORE they left their home planet, while they were at their most vulnerable. Supposedly, after many long, and brutal wars, space travel, and any contact with “inferior” alien races became culturally undesirable, and Kryptonians turned their attention inward, while cutting themselves off from the rest of the known universe.

Of course, the reason for that backstory was to explain why the supposedly advanced Kryptonians couldn't evacuate their planet, and why no Kryptonians were off-world when the planet blew up. More importantly, it preserved Kal-El's uniqueness, and his iconic status as the “sole survivor of a doomed civilization.” I was just a kid when Supergirl was first introduced in the comics, and I remember even then, some purists felt like her existence diminished Superman's status as the Last Kryptonian, which is exactly how I feel about Reign's Kryptonian origin.

Since Supergirl first showed up, MANY Kryptonians have come and gone, both in the comics, in the movies, and on television shows like this one. Between the Bottle City of Kandor, and the Phantom Zone, there seems to be an endless supply of potential super-men, and super-women from Krypton, but very few of them have ever held a prominent place in the DC Universe. As we've seen both on the show, and in the movies, they can be very difficult to defeat (ESPECIALLY without killing them), and any weapon that is effective against them, can also be used against Superman, and Supergirl.

Basically, the problem is, too many Supergirls spoils the show. The universe is a big place. I just don't understand why Reign couldn't be from some planet OTHER than Krypton, perhaps one that was destroyed by Kara's ancestors in one of those long-forgotten wars. There's no reason why EVERY super powered baddie that can give Supergirl a run for her money HAS to be from her old neighborhood. It's just a bit too contrived for me.

As for this episode, I really got a kick out of all the references to the Donner Superman movies, and I was glad that they finally put J'onn's amazing power of intangibility to practical use. I thought Mon-El's character showed definite signs of maturity as one might expect from someone who aged seven years, married a telepath (a daunting challenge for ANY fratboy spaceman), AND grew a spiffy beard.

Did I mention Monnie married a telepath? Did I mention she was smokin' HAWT?? Who knew that people who lived on Saturn's moon, Titan spoke with British accents? I always knew Saturn Girl could read minds, but I didn't know her OTHER power was being Super-Sexy! WOOF! Mon-El definitely deserves a high-five from Winn on this one!

Yes, it's sad that Kara's heart had been stomped on yet again, but I don't think anyone – including Kara, herself – ever thought that they would live happily ever after. The life of a super-hero is a lonely one. It took Superman DECADES to finally allow himself to have a personal relationship with Lois. I couldn't help but make the connection between the fact that last week, we saw young Kara pass up the chance for her first kiss, only to later regret not taking advantage of the opportunity, and now, after the end of her first serious adult relationship, she once again winds up alone, and haunted by thought of what might've been. The lessons she seems to be taking from both experiences is to not open her all-too-human heart, for fear that it will only be crushed again. If that was intentional on the part of the writers, that was some excellent foreshadowing, and character development.

Speaking of character development...

Having Carl Lumbley play his is the best thing to happen to J'onn J'onzz since the invention of fire extinguishers. They have great chemistry. Somehow, Mr. Martian makes the usually stuffy J'onn seem more human, which makes him a more interesting, and relatable character. I always love these “Stranger In A Strange Land” stories, and I would really enjoy an episode with a subplot about how M'yrnn (Myron?) tries to fit in to human society. I could even see him landing a job as anything from a philosophy professor at a local college, to hosting an out-of-this-world late night radio talk show owned by CatCo Media. After all, didn't Livewire start out a “shock jock?” I'm sure whatever Myron chooses to do, hilarious hijinks will ensue.

Not that I'm complaining, but what's the deal with these writers giving their female characters men's names? First we've got Alex (short for Alexis?), and now Sam, which is probably short for Samantha. I don't know if that was Reign's human name in the comics, but it just seems like an odd choice.

Also, this is the second time this season where we learn that a character was kicked out of their childhood homes by a borderline abusive parent when they did something that their father (in Maggie's case) or their adoptive mother (in Sam's) deemed socially unacceptable. Is this part of a larger theme this season, relating to the way Kara's parents ALSO sent her away, or is it merely a coincidence? I fail to see the point in driving home the lesson that parents shouldn't abandon their children because bad things might happen to them. I mean, who DOESN'T know that?

As usual Melissa Benoist is a joy to watch. She looks so comfortable in the supersuit, I wouldn't be surprised if she drives home in it. She's even more believable as the increasingly conflicted Kara, who is just as vulnerable to all the emotional gut punches she's been taking lately as any “mere” human. No wonder she feels compelled to embrace the alien side of her nature, as if pretending to be inhuman will somehow protect her broken heart. The problem is, Kara's not a Vulcan, she's a Kryptonian, who was raised by two loving families to care about, and protect others. She can't just flip a switch and turn off her feelings and emotions, no matter how hard she tries. There's a happy medium between profession detachment and personal involvement that Kara has yet to find in her life as Supergirl, OR as her alter-ego, Kara Danvers. That's definitely something she should discuss with her cousin sometime in the very near future. Who could better relate to those kinds of problems than Clark... or Superman?

"Now we can add Reign to the mix. How in the heck did SHE survive Krypton's detonation?"

It was explained in the last episode of Season 2.

"The universe is a big place. I just don't understand why Reign couldn't be from some planet OTHER than Krypton, perhaps one that was destroyed by Kara's ancestors in one of those long-forgotten wars."

At least in the comics, Reign was NOT Kryptonian. She was an alien embryo geneticaly engineered and grown in a Kryptonian lab located deep in space.

"I was just a kid when Supergirl was first introduced in the comics, and I remember even then, some purists felt like her existence diminished Superman's status as the Last Kryptonian, which is exactly how I feel about Reign's Kryptonian origin."

And several decades later those purists killed off Supergirl because she "added nothing to the mythos", removed Krypto, removed Superboy and "wrecked" the Legion, made Power Girl an Atlantean, and overall they erased/messed up with characters only because they don't liked them and threw Superman's continuity and mythos in such a chaos they never recovered.

So I can't say I care about Superman's unique "status". Moreover, I doubt back then editors, writers and most of fans cared for it or thought it was part of what made Superman iconic. Most of fan letters back then did welcome Supergirl. And Krypto. That's because he survived his first story. Golden Age purists say Krypton stuff is irrelevant because Superman didn't find out about his origin until 1949, but Siegel and Shuster had had their way, he would have found out about it in 1940.

Not that I want several millions of Kandorians around, but I don't need or want Superman to keep a status I consider unnecessary and even detrimental and that didn't survive past 1950 anyway. It'd be like excising Harley Queen from the Batman mythos somehow she makes the Joker "less unique".

Back in 1994, DC killed off most of Green Lanterns. It didn't work well for the book or the mythos.

"Since Supergirl first showed up, MANY Kryptonians have come and gone, both in the comics, in the movies, and on television shows like this one."

In fact, Superman fought three Kryptonian criminals -Mala, Kizo and U-Ban- in "Superman #65" (July, 1950). To my -poor and incomplete- knowledge, that was the first time Superman met other survivors. Neither Supergirl nor the Kandorians opened the floodgates.

"Between the Bottle City of Kandor, and the Phantom Zone, there seems to be an endless supply of potential super-men, and super-women from Krypton, but very few of them have ever held a prominent place in the DC Universe."

I fail to see what the trouble is, then. If a supporting character or villain doesn't work, then he/she is shelved. Van-Zee was forgotten. Kara Zor-El was not, no matter how badly DC wanted everyone to forget her. Dru-Zod became eventually a very popular villain, but Roz-Em and Quex-Ul were discarded.

"Over on CBR some fans are complaining about brunette Saturn Girl married to Mon-El..."

Well, they need more useless outrage on CBR's click-bait ever since Jonah sold off the place. :)

"This is a SUPERGIRL show afterall... but with a force like Reign to deal with, I can see why you'd want as many allies as possible. Does this mean TPTB may also bring back Tyler Hochelin's Superman, and possibly Brit Morgan's Livewire, as well? "

I don't think either actor is available this season. Brit's recurring now on Riverdale, and Tyler is presently accepting movie work.

"And shippers are being shippers."

Clearly, they are stubborn in their tunnel-vision, since it seems obvious now that the TV series multi-season writing plan had purposely set up the ships in Season Two only to undo all of them in Season Three. One thing that Supergirl has been consistent on is on its flexibility to change.

"Well, so much for the idea of Kara being “The Last Daughter Of Krypton.”

Well, that notion is merely derivative myth-making, and was never really factored into Supergirl's character development. In fact, she was considered by DC editors of the time to be a 'gateway character', and useful catalyst for ushering in a more expanded DC universe...which we are now starting to see happen on the TV show as well. In many ways, the series treats Kara Danvers as a version of Pandora: her coming out as a superhero continues to create a domino effect of change as it continues.

Ket wrote: "In fact, she was considered by DC editors of the time to be a 'gateway character', and useful catalyst for ushering in a more expanded DC universe...which we are now starting to see happen on the TV show as well."

That's the kind of thinking that led to the creation of Comet the Super-horse, Streaky the Super-cat, Beppo the Super-monkey, and more ridiculous contrivances aimed at small children.

My idea of "expanding the DC Universe" would be to have super-powered beings who come from some OTHER planet besides Krypton that WASN'T destroyed. It's completely unnecessary to keep adding more and more Kryptonians to the show.

"That's the kind of thinking that led to the creation of Comet the Super-horse, Streaky the Super-cat, Beppo the Super-monkey, and more ridiculous contrivances aimed at small children."

One can lay all this on then-editor Mort Weisinger, who often relied on new gimmickry every six months or so to keep the Super books fresh (and selling much better than the comics do today). However, it was also under Mort's stewardship that more concepts such as the LSH and lookalike doppelgangers were also in abundance. So there's usually good and not-so-good aspects to the use of endless gimmickry in pop culture entertainment.

"It's completely unnecessary to keep adding more and more Kryptonians to the show."

Actually, that's not true. Their use has been often used as a counterbalance to one of Kara's idyllic beliefs throughout the series, that Krypton was a sort of utopia she had lost, and that presently being on Earth is a second-rate come-down from that. However, as the series continues to unfold, Kara has already discovered that her Kryptonian parents weren't all that idealistic, and may have hidden their blacker deeds away from their daughter. At this point, Reign seems poised to knock Kara for a vicious reality check on what living on Krypton was really like.

> Now we can add Reign to the mix. How in the heck did SHE survive Krypton's detonation?

Season 2 finale showed that. I'm more interested whether she's an actual Kryptonian, or like her comic book incarnation, a product of Kryptonian genetic engineering / manipulation. I'm guessing that all the time on earth and exposure to yellowsolar radiation she's not the former... but then again...

Definitely can agree, more M'yrrn in the future would be interesting to see, and add an interesting dimension to J'onn.

> I don't think either actor is available this season. Brit's recurring now on Riverdale, and Tyler is presently accepting > movie work.

Ahh, thanks for that KET. Idunno, I still remain hopeful both these actors can be brought back to reprise their roles in Supergirl again :)

> My idea of "expanding the DC Universe" would be to have super-powered beings who come from some OTHER planet besides > Krypton that WASN'T destroyed. It's completely unnecessary to keep adding more and more Kryptonians to the show.

Well so far we've J'onn and M'gaan. Just to put it out there, anyone have any other suggestions? Starfire would be interesting,and I'd LOVE it if they brought back Maxima.

"I dunno, I still remain hopeful both these actors can be brought back to reprise their roles in Supergirl again :)"

Well, since Riverdale and Supergirl do happen to be office space neighbors in Vancouver, I kind of figure that Brit still has a way back into National City, if she's available for a guest shot....especially if friend Larry Teng returns for another SG episode later this season.

"Well so far we've J'onn and M'gaan. Just to put it out there, anyone have any other suggestions?"

Seems to me that Lyra of Starhaven is still steady with Winn, although we haven't seen her yet this season (that may change when Winn's mother makes an appearance soon). the show really emphasized the 'aliens=immigrants' allegory last season; however this aspect might come back into play with the directional shift of the season's back half of episodes. I also read recently that the show is presently casting for a new alien race that hasn't been seen yet.

"That's the kind of thinking that led to the creation of Comet the Super-horse, Streaky the Super-cat, Beppo the Super-monkey, and more ridiculous contrivances aimed at small children."

Neither Comet nor Streaky came from Krypton. Streaky was an Earth cat and Comet was a Terran mythological being.

Also, those so-called "ridiculous contrivances" didn't make it past 1971. In fact, the only super-pet who kept making appearances was the one was ACTUALLY Kryptonian. So I don't see why it's a big deal.

Also, comics sold A TON more when they were aimed at small children. And, honestly, were funnier, too (often unintentionally).

"My idea of "expanding the DC Universe" would be to have super-powered beings who come from some OTHER planet besides Krypton that WASN'T destroyed. It's completely unnecessary to keep adding more and more Kryptonians to the show."

Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm a HUGE fan of Krypto, and I would LOVE to see him make a guest appearance on Supergirl!

My point is that having too many Kryptonians on the show dilutes the notion of Kara and Kal-El as the last of their kind, an "endangered species," something which adds to the magnitude of the horrific tragedy they survived. That deep-seated loneliness, and a feeling of being outsiders, has always been a necessary element to their heroic mythos, and it's a theme that the show has been exploring this season.

I'm glad that we've had Martians, Durlans, Daxamites, and other alien species on the show, which only makes my point that there's no need for the writers to come up with new Kryptonian villains for Supergirl to contend with.